Maclay PA 6d 1939 - 1992

More Maclay stuff, this time focusing on PA 6d. A beer that was, for a long time in the 1930's and 1940's Maclay's bread and butter beer. But it hides a strange secret behind its name.

I twigged what that secret was when I got to about 1951 in my log trawl. It's made me do some rethinking about Scottish beer. Particularly about the nature of 60/-, 70/- and 80/-. But before we get onto such philosophical questions, let's take a look at the beer itself:

Maclay PA 6d 1939 - 1992
Date	Year	OG	FG	ABV	App. Atten-uation	lbs hops/ qtr	hops lb/brl	Pitch temp	max. fermen-tation temp	length of fermen-tation (days)	pale malt	crystal malt	no. 1 sugar	no. 2 sugar	caramel	DCS sugar	oats	flaked maize	flaked rice	wheat malt	flaked barley	malted oats	torrefied wheat	malt extract
21st Feb	1939	1038	1017	2.78	55.26%	4.00	0.65	60º	67.5º	8	78.57%			14.29%				7.14%
15th Aug	1939	1038	1011	3.57	71.05%	6.00	1.00	59º	68º	9	75.00%			16.67%				8.33%
6th Feb	1940	1036	1014	2.91	61.11%	5.00	0.78	60º	66º	8	85.71%			14.29%
29th Jun	1943	1032	1014	2.38	56.25%	4.00	0.56	60º	67.5º	7	76.98%		9.06%		0.38%		4.53%					9.06%
6th Jul	1943	1032	1011	2.78	65.63%	4.00	0.55	60º	65º	8	76.34%		8.14%		0.25%		6.11%					9.16%
6th Jul	1943	1032	1011	2.78	65.63%	4.00	0.55	60º	65º	8	76.34%		8.14%		0.25%		6.11%					9.16%
4th Aug	1943	1032	1014	2.38	56.25%	4.00	0.55	60º	67º	6	76.98%		9.06%		0.38%		4.53%					9.06%
10th Mar	1944	1032	1011	2.78	65.63%	3.53	0.48	60º	67º	8	79.39%		8.14%		0.25%						6.11%	6.11%
13th Jun	1944	1032	1014	2.38	56.25%	4.00	0.57	60º	68º	7	79.39%		8.14%		0.25%							12.21%
21st Jun	1951	1030	1013	2.25	56.67%	5.26	0.70	61.5º	66º	7	94.12%		5.88%		0.00%
25th Jul	1951	1030	1010	2.65	66.67%	5.25	0.65	61º	68º	8	87.26%		5.13%		0.76%	1.71%			5.13%
20th May	1952	1030	1012	2.38	60.00%	5.33	0.67	61º	68º	8	86.80%		5.79%		0.18%	2.89%			4.34%
24th Jul	1952	1030	1009	2.78	70.00%	5.33	0.68	61º	69º	8	86.80%		5.79%		0.18%	2.89%						4.34%
5th Sep	1956	1030	1010	2.65	66.67%	6.00	0.77	62º	70.5º	8	74.82%		7.67%		0.24%	3.84%		11.51%						1.92%
10th May	1957	1030	1013	2.25	56.67%	5.62	0.69	62.5º	68º	7	74.82%		7.67%		0.24%	3.84%		11.51%						1.92%
29th Jul	1957	1030	1009	2.78	70.00%	6.32	0.81	62º	72º	8	73.24%		9.39%		0.47%	3.76%		11.27%						1.88%
1st Sep	1965	1030	1012	2.38	60.00%	6.05	0.75	61.5º	69.5º	7	74.82%		7.67%		0.24%	3.84%		11.51%						1.92%
9th Mar	1966	1030	1012	2.38	60.00%	6.05	0.74	61.5º	69º	7	74.91%		7.68%		0.12%	3.84%		11.52%						1.92%
7th Jan	1971	1030	1008	2.91	73.33%	5.08	0.64	62º	71º	7	79.18%		5.66%		0.08%	1.89%		11.31%						1.89%
27th Jun	1971	1030	1011	2.51	63.33%	4.86	0.61	61.5º	69.5º	7	79.06%		3.76%		0.24%	3.76%		11.29%						1.88%
19th Apr	1972	1030	1009	2.78	70.00%	5.19	0.64	62.5º	72º	7	79.15%		5.65%		0.12%	1.88%		11.31%						1.88%
2nd Apr	1975	1030	1008	2.91	73.33%	5.30	0.67	61.5º	70º	7	79.15%		5.65%		0.12%	1.88%		11.31%						1.88%
6th Mar	1980	1030	1008	2.91	73.33%	5.30	0.65	61º	69º	7	79.06%		5.65%		0.24%	1.88%		11.29%						1.88%
18th Mar	1984	1030	1007	3.04	76.67%	5.30	0.65	61º	66º	8	90.35%		5.65%		0.24%	1.88%								1.88%
8th Jul	1992	1034	1011	3.04	67.65%	4.17	0.62	º	70º	7	87.18%	5.13%								2.56%			5.13%	0.00%
Sources:
Maclay brewing records, document numbers M/6/1/1/3, M/6/1/1/4, M/6/1/1/13, M/6/1/1/28, M/6/1/1/35, M/6/1/1/44, M/6/1/1/46, M/6/1/1/49, M/6/1/1/56, M/6/1/1/61, M/6/1/1/64 held at the Scottish Brewing Archive.

The first thing that strikes me is how little this beer changed between 1951 and 1984. The OG was rock solid at 1030, though the FG did decline a point or two. I don't think I've come across a beer whose specs were so stable for so long.

The stability doesn't end there. The hopping rate stayed at around 0.65 lbs per barrel for the whole period. As did the fermentation temperature, with pitching at 61º F, rising to 69º F. Fermentation took 7 or 8 days.

I'm shocked at how little the recipe changed as well. 75-80% pale malt, 5-7% No. 2 invert, 3% DCS sugar, 11% flaked maize, 2% malt extract and a touch of caramel. Between 1956 and 1980 the recipe is basically identical. That's very unusual.

That's quite odd, but not as odd as what comes next.

Matching up brewhouse names with product names can be a nightmare. Especially when you don't have a price list. That's not a problem with Maclay. At least not from the 1970's onwards, because I can remember their beers and they're listed in the Good Beer Guide.

This is the entry for Maclay in the 1982 Good Beer Guide:

I can match these up nae probs with the beers in the brewing records. There's only one thing 60/- could possibly be: PA 6d. Which causes me quite a degree of consternation.

Because I always considered 60/-, and Maclay 60/- in particular, to be Dark Mild. Not only was it called a Pale Ale in the brewery, it was brewed to exactly the same recipe as the 70/- (SPA in the brewhouse) and 80/- (Export). Presumably it was primed with caramel at racking time to get the dark colour.

This in itself isn't that unusual. There were plenty of breweries who made Mild by adding caramel to their Bitter. It still goes on today. What makes me feel weird is this: in way, the BJCP are right in their description of 60/-, 70/- and 80/-. They say that they are different strength versions of the same thing. Which in the case of Maclay is certainly true. Where the BJCP falls down is in not recognising that they are the Scottish versions of Pale Ale rather than mythical "Scottish Ales". And all that bollocks about cool fermentation temperatures, roast barley for colouring, etc.


There's one question unanswered: when did Maclay PA 6d get darker and turn into a pretend Mild?